College football: LSU routs Missouri in Orgeron’s debut

BATON ROUGE — In Ed Orgeron’s debut, LSU (3-2, 2-1 SEC) amassed a 634 yards of total offense and dominated Missouri on both sides of the ball to hand the first-time visitors to Tiger Stadium a 42-7 defeat on Saturday Night.

Orgeron took over as interim head coach on Sunday when Les Miles was relieved of his duties following a 2-2 start to the 2016 season.

“A tremendous day for the Tiger family,” Orgeron said in his postgame press conference. “I’m really proud of our players, our coaches, coming to work on Monday, of believing in what we’re doing and our preparation on a daily basis. I give the credit to all the players, the accountability for this football team.”

LSU running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams led the Tigers to a school record for total offense in SEC games, previously 630 yards set in 1987 at Ole Miss and 1967 against Mississippi State.

With Leonard Fournette sidelined with an injury, both had career nights. Guice carried 17 times for 163 yards, while Williams had 21 carries for 130 yards. Each scored three touchdowns.

Quarterback Danny Etling also had a splendid outing, 19-of-30 for 216 yards. He completed passes to nine different receivers, with Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural catching four passes apiece.

LSU’s 418 rushing yards was its most in an SEC game since Oct. 30, 1976, against Ole Miss (426).

“The thing I liked about this game is we played for sixty minutes,” Orgeron said. “We put the pedal to the metal and there
was not going to be any let up by our football team. I’m looking forward to go watch the film, obviously there’s going to be a lot of things to correct. But I think they’re going to believe in each other, believe in what we’re doing.”

The homestanding Tigers had possession for 42:33 – its highest on record (dating to 1978).

Missouri quarterback Drew Lock was 17-of-37 passing for 167 yards. He scored the visiting Tigers’ only touchdown, a 21-yard catch on a reverse-and-pass from wide receiver Eric Laurent. Ish Witter led Missouri with 48 of his team’s 77 net rushing yards.

LSU opened the scoring at the 6:46 mark of the first quarter on a brilliant 42-yard touchdown run by Guice. The dash, which featured a key block from wide receiver Russell Gage, culminated an 85-yard, nine-play march to give the Bayou Bengals a 7-0 lead.

At the end of the first quarter, LSU held an 8-1 advantage in first downs, and the Tigers had 158 yards of total offense, compared to Mizzou’s 31 yards.

LSU halted a Missouri drive early in the second quarter when Tre’Davious White intercepted Mizzou’s Drew Lock at the Bayou Bengals’ 11-yard line. The interception was the sixth of White’s career and his second this season.

LSU took advantage of the turnover, driving 89 yards on 13 plays, with the march ending on Guice’s four-yard scoring burst. The touchdown gave Guice, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, the first multi-TD game of his career.

Guice increased the lead to 21-0 with 4:40 left in the first half with a 37-yard touchdown sprint, capping a 93-yard, five-play march, the longest TD drive of the season for LSU.

Guice finished the first half with 136 yards on 13 carries, scoring three touchdowns and averaging 10.3 yards per attempt.

LSU’s Homecoming festivities at halftime included the crowning of Queen Natalie Burges, a senior from Katy, Texas, and King Jacques Petit, a senior from Luling, La.

LSU started strong in the second half, covering 75 yards in eight plays on the first drive of the third quarter, with Williams finishing the drive on a 1-yard TD surge.

LSU had 465 yards in total offense and 24 first downs through three quarters, while limiting Mizzou to nine first downs and 194 total yards entering the fourth period.

LSU added another touchdown at the 10:00 mark of the fourth quarter, when Williams scored a on two-yard TD run to cap an 86-yard, 10-play march.

The play gave Williams two touchdowns in a game for the third time in his career, as he also accomplished the feat last season versus South Carolina and in 2014 against UL-Monroe.

The drive was highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Etling to wide receiver D.J.Chark, who made an acrobatic catch on a tipped ball.

LSU led 35-0.

Missouri put together its only scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, using a reverse and pass from wide receiver Eric Laurent to Lock for a 21-yard touchdown with 6:11 to play.